Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the IPL 2021 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings.
It was another familiar chase from Punjab, start well at the top before losing the plot in the final phase of the chase. Punjab remains fifth with 10 points after 13 matches and it would require other results to go its way to qualify.
Harshal to bowl. Yorker and Punjab looks to run a single but Harshal manages to run Shahrukh out at the striker's end. Is that the game? Harpreet is in at no. 8. He starts with a two. 17 needed from 4 balls. Henriques hits a six but Punjab needs 8 from the final delivery. Single from the final delivery and that's the game. Bangalore wins by six runs and qualifies for the IPL playoffs!
19 runs needed in the final over.
Siraj to bowl the penultimate over. Henriques squeezes a single to get Shahrukh on strike. Full and wide and Shahrukh slices it behind short third for a four. Swing and a miss by Shahrukh and RCB goes for a review. Siraj isn't convinced, however. No spike on the ultraedge and he remains not out. 22 needed from 8 balls. Swing and a miss but it's wide this time. Excellent over from Siraj, just 8 runs from it. PBKS 146/5 in 19 overs/
27 needed in 12 balls
Harshal, 2-0-5-0, comes on for his penultimate over. SIX! Mighty heave and Shahrukh connects and deposits it outside the ground! A 92m hit! A good slower ball dot to finish the over. PBKS 138/5 in 18 overs
Garton continues and Markram gets a streaky boundary behind short fine and short square. Slower ball and Markram toe ends a skier to long on where Christian completes the catch. Punjab crumbling in the chase, needs 37 from the final 3. Henriques is the new man in. PBKS 128/5 in 17 overs
Chahal comes on for his final over. WICKET! Mayank goes for the sweep byut ends up top edging it behind the 'keeper where Siraj runs across to take a good catch. He departs for 57. Sarfaraz is the new batter. Markram eases the pressure with a lofted drive for six, which very nearly ended in the hands of the long-off fielder. WICKET! What a beauty! Sarfaraz played all around it as the ball pitched outside leg and knocks the off-stump! A dream delivery for a leg-spinner. Punjab four down. Shahrukh in at no. 6. Woof! Nearly another wicket as he spoons an edge back towards the bowler but Chahal can't get his dive right. PBKS 121/4 in 16 overs
Siraj has the ball. Mayank has to take over the acceleration for Punjab. He gets a thick outside edge behind the short third for a boundary. A much-needed one for Punjab. Siraj drags it wide and Markram slashes it behind point for another boundary. PBKS 113/2 in 15 overs
The second strategic time-out taken with the required rate at 10.50 rpo
Garton replaces Harshal. RCB is tightening the screws here with another tight over. Just 21 runs from the last 4 overs which included 2 big wickets. Kohli has mixed his bowlers well in the middle overs. PBKS 102/2 in 14 overs
Chahal continues. Couple of wides from Chahal helps Punjab's cause. Fifty for Mayank, his fourth half-century of the season. It comes off 36 balls. Oh Pooran.. WICKET! He goes for the big heave and skies a catch to Padikkal at fine leg! Markram is the new man in. PBKS 100/2 in 13 overs
Harshal comes on. Starts with two dots against Pooran before the southpaw gets a streaky single to third. Two from the over. 71 required from 48 balls. PBKS 94/1 in 12 overs
Full length from Shahbaz and Mayank with a majestic six straight over long off! 10 runs from the first 4 balls. WICKET! Rahul jumps out of his crease and looks to go big but ends up miscuing it to short third, where Harshal takes a simple catch! Pooran is the new batter. PBKS 92/1 in 11 overs
Change of ends for Chahal. Superb from Mayank as he goes inside out over the covers for a boundary. After two dots, Chahal drops it short and Mayank lifts it straight over his head for the second boundary of the over. PBKS 81/0 in 10 overs
Shahbaz replaces Chahal. Tody over from Shahbaz; doesn't offer the air or width for the Punjab openers to get under. PBKS 72/0 in 9 overs
Dan Christian will roll his arm over. Pace off the ball from Moises Henriques paid dividends for Punjab in the first innings. Can Christian do the same for RCB? Poor from Christian as he drifts down the leg and Mayank helps it behind for a boundary. Mayank goes leg side but square this time for another one bounce four. 11 from the over. PBKS 66/0 in 8 overs
Chahal comes on. This could be a very tight chase today. Fifty up for Punjab. Some good running between the wickets by the pair as it gets 7 runs from the over. PBKS 56/0 in 7 overs
The required rate is 8.28rpo for Punjab.
Kohli turns to the man with the golden arm -- Harshal Patel. He mixes up his pace well and helps keep Punjab's run-rate in check. Just three runs from the over. End of the powerplay overs and it's the first time-out. PBKS 49/0 in 6 overs
Spin introduced in the form of Shahbaz and Rahul hits him straight over his head for a six! Mayank superbly places a cover drive through the offside for a four. Stumping appeal againsy Mayank but his backfoot is grounded and the third umpire also asks for a caught behind check and he is safe again. PBKS 46/0 in 5 overs
Slower ball from Garton but Mayank is waiting for it and pulls it over the leg side boundary for a six! Punjab is clawing back the required run rate well in the last couple of overs after a slow start. A second over-the-head bouncer of the over and the umpire signals a no-ball. Free hit and Rahul can only squeeze out a single. 14 runs from the over. PBKS 33/0 in 4 overs
Siraj continues. Width on offer and Rahul slashes behind short third for a boundary, first of the innings. Oh my.. The sound off the bat! Slower ball from Siraj and Rahul picks it up and deposits into the roads of Sharjah! Given out lbw but Rahul reviews immediately. There was an inside edge and Rahul survives. PBKS 19/0 in 3 overs
Left-arm pacer George Garton shares the new ball. Appeals from Bharat and Garton for a caught behind as Mayank went for the pull. RCB decides against reviewing it and replay shows it was off the forearm. Myank with a mistimed pull which falls short of the deep square leg fielder. PBKS 7/0 in 2 overs
Both Mayank and Rahul is off the mark with a single. No width on offer from Siraj and he provides RCB with a tidy start. PBKS 3/0 in 1 over
Rahul and Mayank make their way out to the middle. Kohli leading the talk in the RCB huddle. Siraj has the new ball.
An innings of two halves for Punjab. They were set up nicely by Moises Henriques who took 3 for 12 to keep RCB quiet through the middle overs. That's when Maxwell and de Villiers cut loose and took the attack to Punjab. Maxwell slammed a 33-ball 57 and de Villiers a 18-ball 23 as RCB posted the highest total in Sharjah during this leg of the IPL. Back with the chase shortly.
- END OF INNINGS -
Shami to bowl the final over of the innings. Single to Shahbaz as Maxwell gets strike back. GONE! Maxwell has holed out for a 33-ball 57 . He hit three fours and four sixes. SHOT! Shahbaz has slapped that out of the ground for six. What a shot. He is clean bowled next ball. Srikar Bharat came in after Maxwell's dismissal. And another one for Shami - Garton is clean bowled. Shami on a hat-trick. Harshal Patel averts a hat-trick and gets a single off the last ball. RCB 164/7 in 20 overs. Shami: 4-0-39-3
Vintage AB - right in his arc and he has launched Arshdeep over the bowler's head for a massive, massive maximum! Struck the roof of the pavillion. He is run out next ball, trying to pinch a quick single. Sarfaraz Khan with a direct hit at the non-striker's end. Maxwell is on strike and he gets a couple off the next ball. Shahbaz in next. Arshdeep, meanwhile, bowls a wide. And another wide. Gets a single next ball and gets off strike. Shahbaz off the mark with a single. Maxwell has pulled the last ball to deep square for four. 16 from that over. RCB 156/4 in 19 Overs. Last 5 Overs, RCB have scored 63 for the loss of 1 wicket.
Bishnoi to bowl the 18th. Maxwell gets a couple first ball. Maxwell brings out the switch hit and flays this over cover for four. Takes a single next ball to bring up his 50! A single to end the over - 8 from it. RCB 140/3 in 18 Overs.
Shami is back and Maxi welcomes him with a flick off the pads to midwicket for four. Shami pushes it fuller and Maxwell nudges the ball to long-on and gets off strike. AB gets a four and a six off the last two balls - vintage de Villiers. RCB 132/3 in 17 Overs.
Henriques to bowl out. He has been on the money today. Four off the first four balls. Six off the over. Great spell from Henriques - 4-0-12-3. RCB 115/3 in 16 Overs.
Bishnoi is back into the attack. Maxwell collects a couple. My word, what a shot that from Maxwell - was the googly and Maxi has pummelled that over midwicket for six. And another one - he has belted that down the ground for six more. Follows it up with a single. 16 from that over. RCB 109/3 in 15 Overs.
Henriques into his third. Another tidy over. Just four from it. RCB 93/3 in 14 Overs.
Brar to bowl out. Slip for Maxwell, who pulls this short ball for six. Gets a couple next ball before launching the next one over midwicket for the second maximum of the match. A single to end the over. 16 off the over. RCB 89/3 in 13 Overs.
Henriques continues. Padikkal gets a single to sweeper cover. GONE ! Henriques has another one and another set batter, Padikkal, is caught behind. AB de Villiers joins Maxwell. 2 runs and a wicket. RCB 73/3 in 12 Overs.
Brar into his third. Three dots and a single so far. Excellent from Brar. Just two from it in the end. RCB 71/2 in 11 Overs.
Henriques into the attack. Padikkal on strike. Two dots to start with. Mike Hesson, RCB Director of cricket thinks it is not an easy surface. "Good that we are scoring in eight per over," he says. GONE! Kohli has chopped on. The ball kept low. Interesting move - Dan Christian at No 3. GONE! Out first ball. The move has backfired. Maxwell at 4. What an over. 2 runs and 2 wickets. RCB 69/2 in 10 Overs.
Brar continues. A stifled appeal for lbw, not given. No review available. The batters pinch a single. There's the big hit - majestic from Kohli as he clears his front food and sweeps it over deep midwicket for six. RCB needed that. Dot to end the over. 7 off the over. RCB 67/0 in 9 Overs.
Spin from both ends. Bishnoi back. Padikkal on strike. Starts with a couple of dots. He is getting sharp turn. What's happened there? KL Rahul thinks Padikkal has been caught behind. Not given by the umpire. Rahul reviews. UltraEdge shows there is a spike off the glove but third umpire K Srinivasan says not out. Padikkal survives! Rahul and the fielders not happy. This is an excellent over from the young Bishnoi. 3 from that eventful over. RCB 60/0 in 8 Overs.
Harpreet Brar after the Powerplay. Brar had dismissed Kohli, Maxwell and de Villiers the last time these two sides met! He wouldn't mind an encore. Good start, just two singles off that over. RCB 57/0 in 7 Overs.
- TIME OUT -
SHOT! Arshdeep bowls a full toss outside off and Padikkal has smashed that down the ground for a six. Arshdeep responds with a slower ball yorker. Dug out by Padikkal. He takes a single next ball, thanks to a misfield by Shahrukh at cover. More runs ... misses the yorker and Padikkal has flicked that fine for four. 50 up. Wide off the last ball. He has to bowl that again. That's a dot. RCB 55/0 in 6 Overs.
Shami back. Sarfaraz Khan has dropped Kohli! Tough chance but should've been taken - instead Kohli gets a couple. Shot. Shami goes full, too full in fact and Kohli has flicked that behind square for four. Kohli's approach in Powerplay has been aggressive in the second leg. 8 off the over. RCB 42/0 in 5 Overs.
Bishnoi into the attack. Virat could've been stumped first ball! It has been given a wide but had Rahul collected the ball cleanly behind the stumps, Virat was a goner! Padikkal appears to have got a reprieve - an edge off the second ball is grassed by Rahul. Next ball, Padikkal clobbers one over mid-on for four. Ends the over with another boundary, does Padikkal - this time over the bowler's head. 10 off it. RCB 34/0 in 4 Overs .
Arshdeep Singh into the attack. DPD whips Arshdeep to the on side for six. Effortless. Back to back boundaries for Padikkal, who slices an attempted cover drive over point for four. Good comeback from Arshdeep and brilliant from Markram, who saves a certain boundary. DPD used his bottom hand to get a shot over Markram at mid on, the latter chased and pulled it back in time. RCB 24/0 in 3 Overs.
Mohammad Shami from the other end. Kohli gets a single first ball. Padikkal ducks under the bouncer before getting a single next ball. Tidy start from Shami. Four singles and a brace off that over - Kohli pushes the last ball down the ground for a couple. RCB 11/0 in 2 Overs.
Aiden Markram with the new ball. Kohli on strike. Padikkal on the other end. Markram bowls a half-tracker and Kohli whips it through square leg for four. Boundary and a single. RCB 5/0 in 1 Over.
TOSS UPDATE: Virat Kohli has won the toss and RCB will bat first. No changes for RCB. PBKS have rung in three changes - Fabian Allen, Deepak Hooda, Nathan Ellis are out. Harpreet Brar, Sarfaraz Khan and Moises Henriques are in.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing 11): Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Punjab Kings (Playing 11): KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
2:45 pm - 15 minutes to toss. Sharjah's been a low scoring venue so far. Will today be any different? We will find out soon.
Here's the lowdown on qualification scenarios: Royal Challengers Bangalore needs just one win in its remaining three matches to ensure a place in the playoffs, but Punjab Kings needs to keep winning to keep itself in the hunt.
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